Maggie's Dream

This is undeniably one of the most twisted, confusing, feminist, different, and at the same amazing books I have read.

I finished this book some time ago, but needed a time for it to sink in before I could confirm how I really feel about it. Usually I have an opinion about a book pretty much right away, but “Maggie’s Dream” left me confused with a “what?...” expression on my face. I knew I liked it and I knew I would recommend it to friends and others, but I struggled to verbalize why.

I loved the historical setting of the story. WWII is ongoing and Maggie, together with other women, works in a plant to keep it running while the men fight on the field. She operates a drill press, and although the job is hard she loves it. With her husband – Sam – fighting in war, Maggie struggles with sleepless nights and decides to try a tranquilizers offered to her by a work colleague. While on medication, her dreams become very vivid and hard to control
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When the war ends, and the fighting men come back home, the women are let go from the plant and sent back home to their women duties. Although some of the ladies are happy, a group of them is broken by the fact that they lost job that they enjoyed so much.
Maggie is one of them. Despite it being 1944, she is a woman ahead of time. Her independence, strength and confidence are shining through and she is not ready to give them up. Despite being a strong woman, she struggles with adapting to the “female duties” and pressure from others to become a mother, and falls into a psychological crisis. A dream during which she is constantly trying to save someone keeps on coming back to her every night. Worrying that something is not right, Maggie decides to consult a psychotherapist who prescribes more tranquilizers to soothe her anxiety.

Maggie soon develops a Utopia dream and is so obsessed with her fantasy world that completely loses interest in reality.

I cannot write any more not to include spoilers, but the book is full of clues and hidden meanings, suggesting that nothing is what it really seems.

I absolutely loved this novel!

Thank you to the author/publisher and netgalley for a free copy of MAGGIE'S DREAM in exchange for an honest review.

What a unique read this one was for me. It takes place in the 50's, where Maggie is working in a factory while her sweetheart, a physician is away in the war. She takes tranquilizers to help her sleep while he is away and it leads her down the path of a repetitive dream. As she gets deeper into this dream she struggles with deciphering the difference between reality and her dream world. Can a therapist help her separate reality from fiction, or will it end up ruining her life and her marriage?

While this book definitely had a psychological aspect to it, I found it encompassed a historical fiction feel because of the decade it takes place in and a fantasy aspect because of the dreamworld she spends so much time in. It was an unusual read for me. I am not sure I was able to connect to any of the characters as much as I would have liked and because it was meant to be a bit cryptic I felt like I was reading from the outside looking in, rather than becoming completely absorbed by it. I wanted so much to like it more than I did because because I enjoyed the historical aspect of it, but there was just something missing for me. The ending had an interesting twist and I think that is what somewhat saved it for me. 3.5 stars on this one.

Absolutely brilliant!
History, psychology, and fantasy all rolled into one. It's a book that you'll want to read more than once and start it all over again once you've finished.

A unique POV tale that not only looks at Maggie's life from the outside but her thoughts as she deals with each obstacle that she's forced to hurdle. What would you do if your dreams made you believe your husband, shipped off to war would come to harm? What happens when it doesn't come to be but expands within your mind taking over everything? Would you succumb to the temptation of an inner life that's better than your outer life?

I really enjoyed the ever increasing fear in this book. The fear of the dream starts slow and then when Maggie thinks it has left her it comes back again only stronger. An engrossing look at what might be a psychological breakdown, an overactive imagination or something far more ominous.